A Patch of Fog (Michael Lennox, 2015)

Following Oscar-nominated short Boogaloo and Graham, A Patch of Fog marks the feature debut of Northern Irish director Michael Lennox. Belfast is the setting of this low-budget thriller, though with nary a reference to the Troubles in the film’s screenplay or geography, the two-hander drama could plausibly take place just about anywhere. It’s in the mould of thrillers like Misery and The Fan, where a symbiotic relationship begins between a media personality and an obsessive stalker, though any veers towards violence as a means of conflict resolution in A Patch of Fog come only after a considerably lengthy bout of mind games first. And in being set in the run-up to 25th December, it offers a new contender for the misanthrope crowd to declare as their favourite Christmas film – take that, The Proposition…